Things I've Learned

PeppermintPatty said:
Are you starting to like your new home more now that you’ve gotten used to it?
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I won't soon let go of my hand held shower
and flipping a switch on the saws
and the 3 mile drive to town

I do miss a lot of aspects the cabin gave us
but
It all became redundant after a few years
The challenges became less daunting

The last summer there we both looked at each other, after talking about how much wood we'd need to chop for the upcoming winter
Didn't even need to say much
Started shopping for a house in town the next day
 

Gary O' said:
The little bit of 110 we needed for the cabins just ran lights, DVD player, phones and web
The fridge was propane
We cooked on the wood stove in winter
and cooked/baked in the BBQ in summer (again, propane)

Love my lady's baked bread
Asked her if she could bake some in the BBQ
'All I need is a hot box and a thermometer'

True 'nough

View attachment 342410
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Your wife is a good sport Gary and clearly a good baker ( cook )
 

Gary O' said:
I won't soon let go of my hand held shower
and flipping a switch on the saws
and the 3 mile drive to town

I do miss a lot of aspects the cabin gave us
but
It all became redundant after a few years
The challenges became less daunting

The last summer there we both looked at each other, after talking about how much wood we'd need to chop for the upcoming winter
Didn't even need to say much
Started shopping for a house in town the next day
Click to expand...
I know we go through 4 chords of wood a year. My husband cuts down all the trees and we have a wood splitter. That wood splitter takes splitting wood to a whole new level. The wood is stored to air dry. Most of the wood is birch with some maple and a bit of spruce ; softwood ) for mixing. My man does all of the wood collecting. I just make sure to keep the fire going.

The lifestyle is wonderful but what if there’s an emergency. Could an ambulance find your house? I like your cabin but I think purchasing your house was a really smart move. Then you can go there whenever the mood strikes.

You are definitely the most resourceful couple I know. That baked bread looks lovely. You’re a lucky man Gary.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I know we go through 4 chords of wood a year. My husband cuts down all the trees and we have a wood splitter. That wood splitter takes splitting wood to a whole new level.
Click to expand...
Four cord sounds about right
We'd damp down the stove at night
Curl up in the bed
and open the window all the way
I so miss that mountain air

We did have a window open an inch or so in the day and before bed
wood stoves give off some not so good stuff to breathe

I was the wood splitter
A large chopping maul was all the exercise I needed
My lady would set the rounds on six or eight large rounds and I'd chop
Got pretty fast at it
Almost chopped on the run, like I was in some sorta contest

Then we both stacked
 
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Gary O' said:
Four cord sounds about right
We'd damp down the stove at night
Curl up in the bed
and open the window all the way
I so miss that mountain air

We did have a window open an inch or so
wood stoves give off some not so good stuff to breathe

I was the wood splitter
A large chopping maul was all the exercise I needed
My lady would set the rounds on six or eight large rounds and I'd chop
Got pretty fast at it
Almost chopped on the run, like I was in some sorta contest

Then we both stacked
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I actually miss chopping wood. It’s great exercise but also so meditative. Chopping wood made you forget about problems. Or it did for me. Lately my man’s going on about a log grabber. He says it’s makes a huge difference with picking up wood.
 
Gary O' said:
@911

If you still have any questions, please ask away
It'd be better than me regurgitating all I learned up there
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I watched a movie called “Call of the Wild” with Harrison Ford and he lived in the Yukon during the gold rush. It made me think of you. He lived off the land by killing pheasants, salmon, etc. it’s a great movie, especially after I learned only the people in the movie were real. The animals were all computer generated. Amazing for sure.

He would move around, either staying in a tent or a cabin that was deserted by a former prospector. I couldn’t believe he stripped down and swam in the cold Yukon River. While looking at the bottom of the river, he would find pieces of gold. You know how movies are, they make everything seem so easy and real.

So, here are my questions. Do you own your land or are you able to claim land in Oregon from the state owned lands? If you get heavy snows, say a foot or more, do you have to wait until a lot of it thaws, so you can get out and get to the store for supplies? Do you eat things you kill? Maybe rabbits, wild turkeys, deer, etc.? I’m guessing you have a generator. How much gas do you generally go through in a year? I;m also guessing you chop wood for heat. Do you cut trees that have already fallen?

Back during my hunting years, I was part owner of a cabin in Center County here in Pennsylvania. There were 3 of us that owned the cabin and land. We shared in the work and so on. When it came time to put on a new roof, I had no idea how. One of the fellows in our group knew roofing and taught the other man and me how to put on a roof. It was actually fun. I always enjoyed learning new things.

We also kept a generator. It was bigger than we needed, but the one fellow bought it an auction for an unbelievable price. During deer and bear season, we would stay up there for a week.During the summer, my wife and I would take a week and go to the cabin. She was always afraid of running into snakes. I liked making the turkeys. Better than domesticated.
 
Gary O' said:
I miss that more than anything
I had to get psyched up
take a few deep breaths
and swing away

I love exercise.........with a purpose
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Exercise with a purpose is the best kind of exercise. Chopping wood is safe and healthy way of expressing any type the negativity. When doing it for hours you can practically zone out the outter world and find that sweet spot of pure silence.
Gary O' said:
We showed some young bucks up there how it's done
I think that was more fun than anything.....out doing the kids
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You both nailed it. You have wisdom and life experience that neither of them would have had .
 
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@911
Before I answer your questions;
Will you seek long term (weeks to months) residence?
Or just long weekends?
And what time of year?
 
RadishRose said:
A..... pickaroon?
I had to look that up! Found out there's also a hookeroon!o_O
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It’s for easily moving wood. Instead of having to bend down to get another piece of wood, you use this and hook the wood up. That was actually a question to you from my husband. When he discovered this thing, he was over the top thrilled with it and thought everybody who spilts wood should have one.
IMG_4215.jpeg
 
Gary O' said:
I have one
Didn't use it much up there
I used the peavey a lot
Best tool to get the log off the ground and keep the chain saw outa the dirt
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Hadn’t heard of either one until now. I no longer split wood. We have the wood splitter.
You probably split different types of wood than us. Most of the wood around here is birch which is soft hardwood. I never heard the end of the pickeroon.

I just looked up what you use. This is more for moving full logs around.
IMG_4216.jpeg
 
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